Worry
by bucktooth22
Summary: After the rock giants' battle when Thorin saves Bilbo and they're all laying in the cave. Thilbo oneshot fluff


Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit

The battle between giants made of rock left them all full of terror. The dwarves showed this fear through deep cries that rivaled those of the greatest battle cries. As their swords could not pierce the rocks under their feet, their fists grappled for holds on the rain soaked rock moving beneath them. The dwarves rumbled under the assault coming from those who didn't even see them, their fear turning into frantic clinging as they tried to keep their footing. Even separated, their cries were not that of fear but that of excitement, the cries of war. The dwarves were more at home in the rock battle than they had been in the open grassy planes. Bilbo however, was full of fear. While he may have been trembling from the cold rain, the crashes of rock on rock stilled him. His pointed ears burst at the noise and his heart dropped at the cries of his companions. He was silent, his body no longer trembled, and his blood ran cold. The dwarves roared and he did not. He could not tell if it was fear or bravery that stilled his quaking or caught his tongue but the only other that seemed to notice this sudden change was Thorin. His ears were quite attuned to the roars of his men and the softer cries of the hobbit were easily discernible and yet he heard none of the delicate cries of the innocent hobbit. Then he saw them, small hobbit among their numbers, his face pale and set with fear but his mouth a firm line. They seemed to be moving in slow motion as they crashed into the firm rock and still Bilbo was silent. Thorin shouted and rushed forward to find his tumbled but living dwarves tossed in a heap. Among them he searched for the slight form of the hobbit but the beardless creature was not among their number. Roaring he spurred the others into action, finding the small burger hanging desperately from the cliff. Frantically, the dwarves tried to reach down to grab him but he was just out of their reach. His eyes were wide with fear, his face pale, his mouth open in a silent scream but still he said nothing, desperate to save the innocent hobbit, they scrambled to reach him but to no avail. Thorin saw his hand slip and with swift movement, he swung down and caught him, pushing him up to the eager hands, happy to have the sweet burglar back among their ranks. And he felt himself slip, one hand holding him up but the dwarves were quick to pull him up too.

"I thought we lost our burglar." One dwarf said with a reassuring little laugh. Bilbo's small face lifted softly.

"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us." Thorin said wilt hostility. Bilbo's elfin features fell. Still, he said nothing, did not bite back, did not argue, simply let his small body be roughly pat by the dwarves around him.

They got inside the small cave and he sent some to look around while the rest began making their beds. Bilbo's roll found its way to the outskirts, farthest back from the mouth of the cave. Kili and Fili next to him, sat around each other well after the rest had gone to sleep. Their snores made the whispering voices hard to discern but Thorin's mind found no interest in sleep.

"He didn't mean it." Kili said.

"He's right." Bilbo replied.

"Bilbo, do you know how it feels to be separated from someone you love?" Fili asked.

"No." Bilbo shook his head.

"The worry is what destroys you." Kili said looking at his brother.

"The thought that if you had done something different, made any choice another way, that maybe this wouldn't have happened." Fili said slipping his hand into his brother's.

"I image that is how Thorin felt in that moment." Kili said looking back at Bilbo.

"Sick with worry over you. You should apologize." Fili said.

"For nearly being killed? For needing to be rescued?" Bilbo asked hotly.

"For worrying him." Fili said.

"Have you two apologized?" Bilbo asked looking between them.

"We don't need to." Kili said grinning at his brother who smiled softly.

"And I do?" Bilbo asked. The brothers nodded as one. "For worrying him." Bilbo sighed heavily and sat there for a moment longer but at last he went over to Thorin's bedroll pressed firmly against the wall. "Master Oakenshield are you up?" Bilbo asked softly. Thorin made as if he were just stirring from slumber.

"What is it hobbit?" Thorin asked gruffly pressing himself more firmly against the rocks to his back so Bilbo could sit with him.

"I wished to apologize. Not for my near death experience or for needing to be rescued but for the worry I may have caused you." Bilbo said.

"Your words fall on deaf ears burglar. I hold firm in my belief that you do not belong here. You do not belong with us. Your place is not at the side of a sword but that in the lush home among the hills you left behind." Thorin said frowning. No longer were his words hostile, simply firm.

"Have I not proven myself?" Bilbo asked in frustration.

"You have proven yourself no more than a burden." Thorin grumbled. Bilbo fell silent yet did not move away. Thorin felt if Bilbo truly wished to leave he would go, no words, simply be gone and yet, he did not move.

"Do you wish to hear something amusing?" Bilbo asked at last. His voice was soft and barely discernible above the snoring. "The whole journey I thought the same. I cursed the wizard for dragging me along on this forsaken quest and thought endlessly of my home. My talk with the others constantly revolved around the things I missed and I think that may not change. But that does not mean I will leave. The fear that filled me today was unlike anything I'd ever felt and yet, no noise came out of me. Inside, I was screaming with terror and my knees were bruised from knocking together so hard and yet, my body did not shake and my voice did not come. Instead I felt firm, as solid as any rock." Bilbo said with a warm smile. "It felt foolish to be so unafraid in the moment, and the thought struck me: I was afraid. I was terrified but yet, I felt no fear. While I knew I was in perilous danger, I believed myself one of your ranks. I know these dwarves, these brothers of mine, and I trust them with my life. So while I was fearful, I knew no fear for I trust their hands to save me. I trust your hands to save me." Bilbo said looking at Thorin with a soft expression. "I thought myself one of you, equal enough to die with you, and yet you still cast me out. If I can die with you, can I not trust in you? Can you not trust in me?" Bilbo asked.

"Trust is earned." Thorin replied.

"Then I shall stay by your side until it is earned. And after that I will stay by your side until the stars all cry down from the sky and the moon falls from the heavens." Bilbo said.

"Now I think it's your turn to apologize Uncle." Kili said appearing over Bilbo's shoulder with a smirk.

"Top story telling Bilbo." Fili said appearing on the other side of the hobbit.

"Thank you." Bilbo said blushing slightly.

"For what?" Thorin growled.

"For being so rude to little Bilbo." Kili said tilting his head to the side and frowning slightly in confusion.

"You were quite mean to the little fellow." Fili nodded.

"Hostile even." Kili added nodding as well.

"I will not apologize for my hostility if it bore the truth." Thorin said.

"It did not." Kili said frowning once again. This time it was not in confusion but a firm threat.

"It was cruel lies." Fili said with a matching expression.

"Look at him, he does not belong here." Thorin said about the small hobbit sitting before him. The creature had the pointed ears of an elf but the body of a grocer.

"He belongs here just as much as you do Thorin." Kili said hotly.

"Just as much as any of us." Fili agreed. Thorin did not say these things to be mean, he said these things to send the hobbit away. Back home where he'd be safe and Thorin would no longer need to worry. His stricken heart was sick with worry every time the small creature left his side let alone got into danger. Why could these tick skulled dwarves not see this? Why could Bilbo not see this? Bilbo. Why had he not said anything in this argument? The hobbit's eyes were downcast, his demeanor that of a calm reflective state. The creature was not meant for such perils, and Thorin's composure could not withstand much more damage caused by the grief Bilbo gave him.

"Let me sleep." Thorin said at last rolling over to face the wall.

"Come on Bilbo, come with us." Kili said angrily.

"We will keep you safe." Fili said but Bilbo did not move. The brothers shared a look but eventually left the hobbit to find his own way back to his mat.

"I know you are still awake." Bilbo said after the brother's snores rumbled with the rest. "You wish to send me away. Is it for you or for me?" Bilbo asked.

"Both." Thorin whispered back.

"Thorin, my place is here please respect that." Bilbo said before lying down with his back pressed against Thorin's. This time it was Thorin's turn to say nothing but he rolled over and wrapped Bilbo in his arms, holding the small hobbit tightly against him.

"Then at least stay close so that I may protect you." Thorin said to the sleeping hobbit.


End file.
